-SUBCRJTERIA EEL CRASS BEDS and KELP BEDS ^ 



I'^ an Fcl cri-- bod prcson!"' 



Is floating or non-floating kelp bod. present which has greater than 50" macro algal co\cr in 

 the month of August or S«.^pterr.bc-^ 



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See Field methodology 



JUSTIFICATION 



Broad bladed eel-grass Zoiiera rr.srina is a vascular plant which grows in the marine 

 environment. Together with floating kelp bods Nereocycstis leutkeana and Macrocyslis 

 integrifolia as well as other non-noating kelp species, these plants provide some of the most 

 highly productive and unique habitats in the marine environnrjent. 



The importance of these plants in the ecosytem fall primarily into four areas: productivity, 

 habitat, hydrodynamics and exploitative. Marine plants, particularly kelps, provide a major 

 input of detritus and dissolved organic matter to the food web. They provide a sig nificant 

 habitat for a number of organisms as a place of refuge and a substrate for reproduction. Eelgrass 

 and kelp beds reduce current flow and wave action, creating a protected environrr>ent and 

 influencing beach slope stabilit\-. Finally , seaweeds are a source of human food, fodder, 

 fertilizer and valuable extracted chemicals, Mumford, 1988. 



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DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY - DRAFT 24 



